Peru Family Trek - Teens on the Trail

Travel to Peru on this family adventure and uncover the terraced ruins of Peru’s mystical ancient city. Explore some of South America’s most beautiful architecture in Lima before flying to Cuzco and journeying to the cultural highlights of the Sacred Valley. Acclimatise in Chinchero and enjoy a local homestay, then warm up for the Inca Trail trek with a mountain bike adventure in the Andean countryside. Rest up and recharge in the ancient town of Ollantaytambo before embarking on the iconic Inca Trail to the ruined Inca city of Machu Picchu. This 14-day tour encapsulates Peruvian culture and lets you in on the secrets of their ancient civilisation.

Inca Trail permits

This graph offers an indication as to whether Inca Trail permits are available for the day you want to hike. For example, if your trip starts on July 11, and the Inca Trail starts on day 4 of your itinerary, you will need a permit on July 14. This information must be used as a guide only as availability may change by the time we receive your request.

Available

Inca Trail permits are available. We can request a permit for you this date.

Alternative routes

Inca Trail permits are sold out. However, you can opt to hike the Quarry Trek - with spectacular and diverse sceneries this trek is an exceptional alternative to the very busy Inca Trail. Alternatively, travel by train through the picturesque Urubamba Valley to Aguas Calientes. Both options include a visit to Machu Picchu! Please contact us to arrange the one that suits you best!

Contact us

Inca Trail permits may still be available, please contact us so we can check the current availability and make arrangements for you.

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$1 Deposit on trips

$1 Deposit on trips

Commit to your dream trip for just a $1 deposit

From 14 August 2017 to 24 September 2017, only $1 deposit will be required to secure your Intrepid Travel trip when travelling between 01 November 2017 and 01 July 2018.
The $1 deposit can be paid towards any Intrepid small group adventure or short break with the below exclusions:
Polar trips – includes all itineraries in the Arctic and Antarctic;
Private groups;
Trips operated by Dragoman;
Gorilla treks – pre purchased permits are required to secure the trek to see the Gorillas (excluded trips are: YXOG, YXOCC, YXOIC, YXOEC, YXOGC, YXOFC, UXODC, YGAG, YGAR)
Inca Trail trips - pre purchased permits are required to secure the trek (excluded trips are: GGKY, GGBL, GGSQ, GGTA, GGHC-O, GGKP, GGKY, GGTBC, GGSEC, GGSO, GGSUC, GGRQC, GGRWC, GGRNC, GGRPC, GGRTC)
Peru trips operated by local partner Dragoman will be booked onto alternate Quechua trek. If passenger chooses to book the Inca Trail instead, full $400 deposit will need to be collected.
The discount applies to the land tour price only and cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer and are not combinable. Full payment is required 56 days prior to departure. If booking within 56 days of departure, full payment is due immediately. All tours are subject to availability. Prices, itineraries and inclusions are subject to change without notice. Standard booking conditions apply as per Intrepid website www.intrepidtravel.com.
The offer can be applied to new bookings only and cannot be used in conjunction with another offer or discount.
If the traveller wishes cancel and rebook or to change dates or tours, they will be required to pay the full $400 deposit towards the new trip. This is applicable even inside promotional period.

Why we love this trip

Discover the best sights of Lima, from the colonial architecture and excellent museums to the mysterious catacombs and their ornate displays of human bones

Venture into the Sacred Valley to discover the quaint old town of Ollantaytambo and tour the staggering Inca ruins

Be mesmerised by the mother of all Incan cities, the mysterious Machu Picchu. Enjoy a guided tour of the site, plus an extra day of free time to explore

With ancient cultures, beautiful architecture and stunning mountains to explore, Cuzco has something for everyone, making the perfect end to your family adventure

Tackle the glorious Inca Trail with all the creature comforts you need – a spacious tent, a cook to prepare your meals, and experienced porters who will take care of the heavy lifting

Experience some real Andean hospitality with a homestay in Chinchero, a great chance to experience the culture and daily life of the locals

Is this trip right for you?

This trip visits places that are at high altitude (Cuzco is located at 3,450 m). Some people can suffer from altitude sickness, regardless of age or physical health. Please see the ‘Health’ section of the trip notes for more important information on this.

Some of the Inca Trail is tough going, especially with the altitude. It's important to be patient as your body adjusts. With an experienced support crew, you'll be in good hands for the duration of the trek.

Tradition runs deep in beautiful old Cuzco, so a little homework will put you in good stead. Ask your leader about photography etiquette, and remember to order 'Cerveza helada' for a beer that's cold!

The weather can be unpredictable in the Andes. Be sure to bring warm clothes and prepare for all elements.

Staying with a local family in the Sacred Valley is a rewarding experience, but keep in mind that the facilities will be basic. Water is cold only, meals are simple, and bathrooms are shared.

With colonial charm, ancient Inca history and llamas around every corner, this is a destination with a difference. You'll be met at the airport and driven to your hotel. If you arrive early, be sure to take a stroll around Miraflores. Go from Central Park (Parque Kennedy) to LarcoMar via Larco Avenue.

Alternatively, go to Parque del Amor (Love's Park) and check out its mosaics and El Beso statue. Pachacamac, home to the Temple of the Sun, is also well worth the trip (approximately 30 km from downtown Lima). Limenos (Lima's residents) are friendly, and there are plenty of great restaurants and cafes at which to sample delicious ceviche, a local seafood speciality.

Notes: Your airport transfer is only valid if arriving on Day 1 or if you have booked pre-trip accommodation through Intrepid. Please provide your flight details at the time of booking or a minimum 15 days prior to travel. Once you have provided your details, a representative will be booked to meet you at the airport and transfer you to your hotel.

Accommodation

El Tambo II or similar (1 night)

Included Activities

Complimentary Airport Arrival Transfer

Meals Included

Your tour will take you through the National Museum of Archeology, Anthropology and History – the largest and oldest public museum in Peru. Check out some of its 100,000 pre-Incan artifacts – there are ceramics, textiles, tools and ruins from as far back as 1,000 BC.

You will also visit the infamous catacombs underneath the San Francisco church. Here you'll find the bones of an estimated 75,000 bodies arranged in ornate patterns in stone pits. While it can get a little claustrophobic down there, it's a fascinating display. The church itself is also quite a sight, built in the boroque style of the late 17th century. Later on, catch a flight to Cuzco (approximately 1.5 hours).

Accommodation

Garcilaso Hotel or Similar (1 night)

Included Activities

Cuzco - Coca Tea

Lima - Archaeological Museum

Lima - Cathedral visit

Lima - Guided tour of San Francisco Monastery including The Catacombs

Meals Included

Approach your day at a nice easy pace, taking time to acclimatise to the city's altitude (3,450 m). You will enjoy a half-day city tour in which a guide will show you some of Cuzco's excellent sights and activities.

This city is really the heart and soul of Peru. The city itself is the continent's oldest continuously inhabited city and was the home of the Incas for two centuries before the Spanish built their first capital here. Today Cuzco is a fascinating combination of both cultures, and it's a dream to walk around. Inca-built walls line the central streets, and many of the elegant colonial buildings are built on or around Inca foundations.

While you're here, you'll visit the local Coricancha archeological site, Cuzco Cathedral, the ruins of the most opulent temple in the Inca Empire as well as the 4 main archaeological sites near the city: Sacsayhuaman, Qenqo, Pucapucara and Tambomachay.

Included Activities

Meals Included

The day is yours to explore the city as you please. Armed with a full boleto turistico (tourist ticket), you'll have access to almost all of the best museums and sights in town.

Perhaps start your day at the local market – a great chance to mingle with the locals, sample some street food or some pastries, and perhaps browse for some strange items such as 'Dragon's Blood' (medicinal tree sap). Some great museums to visit are The Pisco Museum, the Museum of Inca Culture and the Museum of Popular Art.

There are also many adventure activities on offer in the gorgeous surrounding hills, from trekking and mountain biking to via-ferrata climbing and zip-lining.

Accommodation

Garcilaso Hotel or Similar (1 night)

Meals Included

Venture into the Sacred Valley. With its warm climate and fertile soil, this valley was considered the greenhouse of the Incas, who built many towns and agricultural terraces along it. Small farming hamlets dot a landscape of patchwork fields, and many are still ploughed by oxen and other beasts of burden. En route you will reach the village of Pisac (2,950 m), where you can stop and browse the stalls of the traditional market. There are also some fascinating Inca ruins to explore – your first taste of Inca architecture. The ruins stick out on a pinnacle overlooking the valley while steep terraces sweep around the hillside. Your hotel for tonight is located in the heart of the valley (2,800 m) in a quiet farming village.

Today you will explore the Pisaq inca site and walk down to Pisaq town. Stop in the historic colonial town to browse the stalls of the traditional market.

Accommodation

Royal Inka Pisac Hotel or similar (1 night)

Included Activities

Sacred Valley - Pisaq Site and Colonial Town

Meals Included

Today you will start to prepare for the Inca trail, with a walk up to the village of Chinchero. Leaving the Sacred Valley behind, follow a newly reopened section of Inca road up the Urquillos Valley, climbing 900 metres (approximately 4 hours) to reach the high-altitude plains of Chinchero (3,760 m). This route is rarely walked by tourists, so enjoy the ambience. You will take in amazing views of the Vilcanota range and, with some luck, spot some parrots and hummingbirds along the way. At Chinchero, the villagers are famous for their skills in weaving, and you might see them in their traditional dress, tending their fields. In the afternoon you can explore the village where the people of Chinchero offer their textiles at a colourful local market. You'll also check out the painted church and investigate the Inca ruins. Enjoy the hospitality of a local family who will welcome you into their home for the night.

Accommodation

Chincheros Homestay (1 night)

Meals Included

After breakfast you'll be collected from the homestay and taken to your private transport bound for Moray and its archaeological site. This was an experimental centre of agriculture in Incan times. From here you'll begin your cycling adventure, firstly riding along a mild–intermediate section before taking a break for a drink and a snack.

We start biking from here along a mild-intermediate section, pause for some included snacks and then continue onto the Salt Flats of Maras. The ride covers about 30-35km depending on the group and the pace.You will be provided with adjustable helmets (mandatory), full-fingered gloves, elbow and knee pads (mandatory on certain downhill sections). The group will have a support vehicle for those wishing not to ride the whole way.

The salt flats of Maras are a great spot to drink in the views and take some pictures. Then it's an intermediate downhill stretch that brings you to Pichingoto on the route to Ollantaytambo. Your bike trip ends at this point. Transfer to a private vehicle and head to Ollantaytambo. The town of Ollantaytambo, built over an ancient Inca city, is a traditional village laid out on a grid plan (one of only four surviving examples), overlooked by the magnificent fortress of Ollantay.

Accommodation

Pakaritampu Hotel or similar (1 night)

Meals Included

Today after breakfast you will set off to visit the archeological site of Ollantaytambo.

Next stop is KM 82, the starting point of the Inca Trail and your next few days of adventure. Here you will meet your trail crew and begin the trek. The first day includes uphill trekking to your first campsite which is at 3,100 metres about sea level. On the way you will you'll see the Inca sites of Huillca, Raccay and Llactapata as well as incredibl views of snow-capped Veronica Peak. Relax and unwind this evening at the campsite with a nourishing meal.

This is camping made easy; as you walk, you'll carry only a day pack while an experienced team of porters carries all the other gear. You will be provided with a duffle bag in which to put items needed for the trek. Anything you don't need is left behind in Cusco in your main bag. Tonight you'll camp in a spacious tent; porters, a cook and a helper will take care of all camp chores. A toilet tent is provided at camp and at each lunch stop (you'll find this is usually the cleanest option for nature calls).

Accommodation

Camping (with basic facilities) (1 night)

Meals Included

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Special Information

Notes: You'll take your entire luggage with you to the Sacred Valley. At Ollantaytambo (Day 8), pack a duffle back (6 kg max) to take with you on the Inca Trail, while the main luggage is left at the hotel in Ollantaytambo. The group will stop off at the hotel to pick it up after completing the trail. Sleeping mats will be provided, and sleeping bags are available for rent (US$20 for regular ones; US$25 for feathered ones). These do not have to be pre-booked – your guide will check which passengers need to rent equipment after the briefing in Cuzco on Day 4.

Wake up to a hot drink and prepare for the most demanding climb of the trek. Set off along the course of the Cusichaca River, ascending a broad valley to the village of Wayllabamba (3,000 m). This is the last place of human habitation on the Inca Trail. Your porters will go ahead and prepare lunch, which will be waiting for you at a spot that's close to the summit. The trail steepens through fertile cloud forest and eventually onto high-altitude grassland. Finally you will reach the highest point of the entire trail, called Warmiwañusca (Dead Woman's Pass) (4,200 m). At this point you can pause to rest and enjoy the views, perhaps snapping a photo or two of the lush surrounds from this vantage. Then you will begin the steep descent into the valley below. Your camp is located at Pacaymayo (3,700 m).

Accommodation

Camping (with basic facilities) (1 night)

Meals Included

A second ascent leads past a fine set of ruins to Runkuracay Pass (3,998 m). From here, you'll be pleased to discover, the trail is mostly downhill! The vegetation gradually changes as you walk through part of the cloud forest. You'll be skirting the outer edges of the Amazon Jungle. Cross the Aobamba River, from where you can see the Sayacmarca ruins sitting on a rocky spur up above. A final, easy ascent over a lower pass takes you to the campsite, which is perched above the ruins of Phuyupatamarca. On this final stretch you'll take in many incredible vistas out across the vast mountains and jungle.

Accommodation

Camping (with basic facilities) (1 night)

Meals Included

The final day of the trek starts with an amazing view, and after breakfast you'll set off on one of the most scenic parts of the whole trail. It's all downhill for the first 2.5 hours until you reach your lunch stop at inca site of Winay Huayna. From here, it is just 2 more hours until you reach the highlight of today: Machu Picchu. The toil of the day is forgotten at a stroke as you are treated to an out-of-this-world view of Machu Picchu before you. After lingering to admire this panorama, catch a bus to Aguas Calienets Here you can check into your accommodation, stretch your legs and take a long-awaited hot shower.

Meals Included

It's an early one this morning - head out on a bus to Machu Picchu at 5.30am. The journey will take 30 minutes. Once you arrive, enjoy a two-hour guided tour of this incredible site. You will then have free time to explore the ruined city by yourself.

While it is thought Machu Picchu was built around 1440 as a country retreat for Incan nobility, there is evidence that it had been a sacred site for much longer. Another school of thought is that it was an astronomical observatory. Decide for yourself as you wander around the many temples, palaces and living quarters.

In the afternoon, take the train back to Ollantaytambo and then a bus back to Cuzco.

Accommodation

Garcilaso Hotel or Similar (1 night)

Included Activities

Machu Picchu - Guided tour

Meals Included

Enjoy a free day in Cuzco to recover from the Inca Trail. If you have some energy left, take the time to walk around and immerse yourself in this delightful, vibrant town. Perhaps feast on some delicious Andean cuisine – you're sure to come across some cancha (roasted corn kernels), humitas (ground and cooked corn cakes), and papa a la huancaina (potatoes in a spicy cream sauce). You could practice your bargaining skills in the craft markets, or visit colonial Spanish churches. Perhaps treat the family to a cooking class or, better yet, a massage – the ultimate way to unwind from the rigours of the trail!

Next trip departures

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Important notes

Please note that these trips are for adults and children travelling together and there must be at least one child under 18 with you.
Minimum age for children on this trip is 11 years old.
A discount of 10% applies on this trip to children 14 years and under at time of travel.
INCA TRAIL PERMITS
Inca Trail permits are sold on request basis only. Once deposit is paid and passport details provided, Intrepid will endeavour to secure a permit for you.

If Inca Trail permits are unavailable by the time you book, you can opt to hike the Inca Moonstone Trek.

The Inca Trail closes in February to allow cleaning and restoration works. If the trek portion of your trip starts in February you will be automatically booked to hike the Inca Moonstone Trek.

Should you choose not to hike at all, please let us know in writing at the time of booking so alternative arrangements can be made. Without this prior warning, local fees may apply.

Essential trip information

Want an in-depth insight into this trip? Essential Trip Information provides a detailed itinerary, visa info, how to get to your hotel, what's included - pretty much everything you need to know about this adventure and more.

Reviews

Caroline Evans

This is a fantastic trip for those who are fit and want a challenge. We thoroughly enjoyed exploring the Inka sites around Cusco and the Sacred Valley, a four-day trek to Ollantaytambo where we only saw one other group in the whole time - and a visit to Machu Picchu as the final crowning glory.